


So Close

by Revasnaslan



Series: Lilacs and Wisteria [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bittersweet, M/M, Pre-Canon, Thulaz Week 2k17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-29 14:29:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11442813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revasnaslan/pseuds/Revasnaslan
Summary: Being undercover is rather lonely, even when the person you love is only feet from you.—Written for Thulaz Week Day 2 (Distance / Solitude)





	So Close

Ulaz had been making his rounds, a couple of decks away from the medical wards. It took some effort, following up on injuries with soldiers who hadn’t returned when they were supposed to—short of yanking them down to the ward by their ears, he could do little more than give them a dry scolding and a terse look before rescheduling their appointments. Now, he stood in the elevator, eyes focused on the datapad he held in hand as he tried to work reschedules into his day—maybe he could pawn some of them off onto his interns?

He liked to believe that he was good at what he did—as a medical officer, his skills were extremely useful for infiltrating the Empire’s medical wards, as well as the gladiator pits. Being undercover was a grueling operation that few were willing to undertake, but it was essential. The Blade of Marmora had had several officers manage to infiltrate in the past, but they were either compromised or forced to blow their cover and escape. The witch that led the druids hadn’t seemed to suspect Ulaz of being against the Empire when he was brought on board—or at least, he hoped that was the case.

It didn’t matter whether he was a new recruit or not, though. He would have been highly scrutinized either way. To keep from drawing unnecessary attention to himself, he tried to keep his head low and rarely spoke unless he was spoken to. It was difficult, as there were times that he wanted to voice his opinion, particularly about the care of prisoners, but when Witch Haggar told you to do something, it was never a request. There were no arguments, no complaints, or else you’d find yourself dragged away. Ulaz had no idea what happened to those commanders who had just _disappeared_ , but he certainly didn’t want to find out from experience.

His ears flicked at the sound of the door to the elevator opening, but he looked up when he caught wind of a familiar scent.

 _Thace_.

For a brief moment, he was frozen in place. Protocol dictated that he should greet Thace—but his voice caught in his throat and he didn’t trust himself not to accidentally call Thace by his name, rather than by his designation. Thace only lost his composure for a moment—the fur at the base of his neck pricked up, his eyes widened, and his brow furrowed just a touch—but he said nothing. He entered the elevator and stood beside Ulaz, whose ears shifted back against the sides of his skull.

It was only 0800 and his day had already been going badly. Running into Thace in the _elevator_ of all places just made it even worse.

He tried to keep himself from reacting too outwardly. There were cameras _everywhere_ , including in the elevators, watching every move of the soldiers and sentries within the fleet. He kept his composure as best as he was able to in that moment.

“Lieutenant,” Ulaz managed to say. He tried to keep the stiffness from his tone, but the knowledge that they were currently under surveillance caused his shoulders to stiffen. However, he kept his composure as best as he was able, and forced himself to continue working on his datapad—even with a slight shake in his hands.

“Doctor,” Thace returned. He then surprised Ulaz by offering the faintest of smiles. However, before Ulax could say anything else, Thace had already moved his gaze elsewhere as he purposefully avoided eye contact.

The silence that fell between them gnawed at Ulaz. The only sound in the elevator was the light tapping of his claws against the screen of his datapad and the low hum of the elevator as it moved through the sub-decks of the ship. He wanted to say something more—he hadn’t talked to Thace in any capacity since their last exchange of information and that had been… several quintants at least.

“How is your arm treating you?” he finally asked, even though such a question wasn’t warranted. However, it was innocent enough, and if anyone later came to review the security feeds, they’d find nothing amiss with this conversation. Still, his ears gave a nervous twitch as he waited for Thace to respond.

“I believe you have my charts,” Thace said smoothly. “I am due back for another examination in around… three quintants, if I remember correctly.”

Ulaz didn’t even have to look at his datapad to know that was true—if only because he scheduled so many procedures and appointments himself.

“Stars forbid, a soldier who actually knows when his appointments are,” Ulaz said dryly—his ears perked up as he heard Thace’s attempt to disguise a snort behind clearing his throat, and Ulaz hid his grin behind his datapad. “Do you feel you need to come in any earlier than that, Lieutenant?”

Thace seemed to consider it, glancing at Ulaz for just a moment, but before he could respond, the elevator doors opened again.

“Commander,” Thace said, immediately standing at attention as Prorok entered the elevator. Ulaz followed suit, knowing it was better to do so than to accidentally annoy one of the highest ranking commanders in the entire fleet. While Prorok immediately began engaging Thace in talk of the fleet, he ignored Ulaz entirely. It suited Ulaz just fine, as he didn’t wish to draw attention to himself unless he absolutely had to at this point.

Still, he stole the occasional glance at Thace.

Thace really was a superb actor, playing the role of an imperial lieutenant extremely well. His posture was perfect, and he wasn’t letting his discomfort with the situation show through his body language or tone _at all_. They stood close enough now that if Ulaz had wanted to— _been able to_ —he could have reached out and touched him. But Ulaz controlled himself, and turned his attention back to his datapad. He continued working. Impulsive he might have been, but he knew that one wrong move in front of the cameras—in front of the commanders of the fleet—could cost both them dearly.

Even though they were close, Thace was still too far away. Ulaz hated it.

He was so lost in his work that he didn’t realize that the elevator had finally arrived on the floor he was supposed to get off on until he felt a light touch on his shoulder. Startled, he looked up to meet Thace’s gaze when Thace lightly squeezed his shoulder.

“I believe this is your floor?” Thace prompted. While his tone hadn’t changed at all, his gaze had softened, now that Prorok couldn’t see his expression. The change was subtle enough that the techs wouldn’t notice anything was amiss either.

“Yes, thank you, Lieutenant,” Ulaz said, dipping his head as he saluted, bringing a fist to his chest. He glanced back before the elevator door closed, and Thace caught his gaze one last time… but that was it.

A cold weight settled in the pit of Ulaz’s stomach, but he pressed on—continued his duties—acting as if nothing was amiss. It was difficult, but he managed—he _had_ to manage.

**Author's Note:**

> being undercover is hard :'(
> 
> don't worry tho not all of my thulaz week fics are bittersweet like this...
> 
> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)  
> beta'd by: [Akumeoi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Akumeoi/pseuds/Akumeoi)


End file.
